The
Minority report was one of two reports published by the
Royal Commission into the Operation of the Poor Laws 1905-09, the other being
Majority report. Headed by the
Fabian socialist Beatrice Webb, it called for a system that was radically different from the existing
Poor Law. She, amongst the others heading the report, who included
George Lansbury, felt that it was shortsighted of society to expect paupers to be entirely accountable for themselves. However the report proved unsuccessful, most of its proposals being disregarded by the new Liberal Government of 1906 when implementing their
Liberal reforms.
Contribution of Sidney and Beatrice Webb
The Minority Report to the Commission was among the most famous of the Webbs' outputs. (Sidney Webb was not a member of the Commission, but the Minority Report was a Webb co-production). Beatrice Webb wrote that its purpose was "to secure a national minimum of civilised life ... open to all alike, of both sexes and all classes, by which we meant sufficient nourishment and training when young, a living wage when able-bodied, treatment when sick, and modest but secure livelihood when disabled or aged".
Historian Jose Harris, the biographer of
William Beveridge, has written that "in historical accounts of modern social policy, the Royal Commission - and in particular its famous Minority Report - has often been closely twinned with the
Beveridge Plan of 1942 as one of the two most seminal public...
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